A sound, well bred dog bred by a heritage breeder who is conscious of their breed’s purpose and heritage is “not just another pretty face,”  and we’ve been introducing you to some of these dogs with our “Not Just Another Pretty Face” series.

Meet “Lilly,” is a six and half year old black Labrador Retriever who has earned her dock senior and dock master titles.  While she doesn’t hunt, she is a retriever through and through, and clearly, this retriever’s affinity for water is apparent; Lilly began dock jumping at the age of 7 months old.  Her personal best jump (on camera) was 25 feet; her best speed retrieve time is a 6.304 seconds.  She has competed with various dock jumping organizations and finished 4th in the Elite Division of the Dock Dog World Championships with a jump of 23’4″ in 2015 (we just got goosebumps).

Like any athlete, injury can sideline the best of them, and Lilly spent much of the year rehabbing a strained groin muscle. She got her first opportunity to compete with the AKC affiliated North America Diving Dogs in February of this year (2017) at the Denver Cluster, and completed her Dock Senior title,(Dogs jumping between 15′- 19′ 11″), as well as earning an invitation to the AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin in Florida later this month (December 2017).  In June, Lilly stepped up her jumps and earned her Dock Master Title (dogs jumping between 20′-23’11”) at the Eastern Idaho Show. That Lilly could reach the master level at her age, and after an injury, had made her owner, Susan Popp, button-popping proud (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun). Lilly is a jumping, swimming, retrieving, and competition-loving “fool” who proves that this purebred dog isn’t just another pretty face!